Those are never mentioned in the pantheon of Philadelphia sandwiches.
Thanks.
I learned something new.
What’s a pizza steak in Philly parlance?
This looks like a delicious sandwich but as mentioned by @joonjoon above resembles more of a NYC chopped cheese
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I feel like Philly Cheesesteaks are the nacho version of sandwiches.
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basically a hoagie roll . . .
add sliced beef
scrape the top off a pizza and put it on the roll… pepperoni not included…
popular in the ‘university city’ area - but spread out to the burbs as well.
Manayunk had one using mixed/chopped together ground beef and ‘pizza stuff’ -
very similar same to some of the posts here.
the South Street “drunk food” culture had variations uncounted . . . .
not actually a lot of new or unique ways to dress a hoagie/steak roll . . . .
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I have lived in Phila my entire life (59 years) and I have never seen a ground beef cheesesteak.
Pizza steaks were common at every steak shop - steak sandwich, mozarella, pizza sauce.
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Trader Joe’s (at least in my area) sells an excellent shaved steak that is perfect for making cheesesteaks. i went to school in Philly and know an authentic cheesesteak. i will be the first to admit that my homemade one is a slight pivot from the pat’s/geno’s style. i start with neutral oil in a pan with plenty of diced onions. then i add in a layer of nicely seasoned shaved steak (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder). as the steak gets browned, i add in move of the shaved steak. some is in contact with the pan and gets nicely browned parts, some is resting on top of onions and is closer to steamed. i like a mix. once the beef is cooked with the onions i remove to a staging area for sandwich assembly. I use TJ’s bake at home ficelle rolls. baked at 425 for 10 mins (pkg instructions say 10-12. i pull them at 10). The freshly baked rolls cool while I’m cooking the meat/onions. For assembly, I split a long roll and place a slice of cheese in the bottom – pepperjack for hubby, white American for me. Add in the beef/onion mixture. (no one in my house likes mushrooms or peppers in their cheesesteak except me. if i have taken the time to sautee those separately, i sprinkle them in with the meat/onion mixture at assembly time. I top each sandwich with american cheese, leaving a bit of room to top with an additional slice or two of meat. (this is to retain the gooey cheesiness throughout the sandwich, not just on top). I then heat the assembled sandwiches at 350 for about 10 mins to melt the cheese. The resulting sandwich may not be traditional (it has a bit more bite than a squishy Amoroso roll), it is truly delicious. If kids’ sports schedules dictate that I need to prep and hold before we are going to eat after a game, I have preassembled and wrapped in foil to be heated later at 325-350 for 15-20 mins. putting the top layer of cheese under a little bit of meat also helps prevent the cheese sticking to the foil in this version.
Again, i fully admit that this is not a totally authentic version. but even when i lived in Philly, i never embraced CheezWhiz, and i like a bit more crust on my roll than the traditional soft roll. for a made at home version, it hits the spot. In our house, these are served with oven baked (frozen) tater tots or fries to accompany a movie. good stuff.
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I should add, I’ve also made a chopped cheese (ground beef cheesesteak) in the same manner described above, but agree it’s a separate animal. A delicious sandwich, for sure, but only a cousin to a cheesesteak.
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Ground beef formed into a ball isn’t a meatball? Maybe not to Lidia Bastianich or my Italian aunt, but……….
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Not when it is firmly smashed onto smokin’ hot cast iron with the bottom of another pot.
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No, of course not! A flattened meatball is not at all a meatball. That’s an utter oxymoron. Different as gorillas and butterflies. Get with the program!
I somehow missed the “flattened” part. But what were they before they were flattened? 
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I was being facetious. A meatball smashed is just a smashed meatball. It’s tautological.
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“My latest visit to @cafe_carmela_ on Holme Ave. in NE Philadelphia. This is their Don Cheech cheesesteak with Cooper Sharp cheese, mushrooms, & fried onions on a seeded Carangi roll. Along with it is an order of their truffle fries with cheese dipping sauce. Excellent.” #cafecarmela #cheesesteak #coopersharp #mushrooms #friedonions #trufflefries #nextlevel #excellent #outstanding #northeastphilly #musttry #ınstagood #instafood
Via my friend Scott, who lives there.
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That looks good. Makes me (almost) sorry I moved out of the area some years ago. I’ll have to check with friends still around there to see if they’ve had a chance to try this place.
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Then top with a generous helping of cheez wiz.
Cheezwiz has no place on an authentic Philly cheesesteak.
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Just wanted someone to say it. Thanks much!
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What was served to my buddy Scott 
I assume it was the Cooper sharp white?
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I don’t know, but I would automatically go for the black pepper version if they offered it.
I’ll ask him. He’s another original Roadfood buddy, now a candy rep.
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